Top 10 Video Game Controversies of 2017

raidramon0
2017 has been a landmark in gaming. It has to be the best year in gaming of the decade so far. We saw a lot of awesome releases and even the launch of the Nintendo Switch, which seems to fulfill its promise of a home console and portable gaming system hybrid. However, even in an awesome year like this, there are bound to be some scandals and embarrassing moments. Here are the choices for some of the biggest controversies in what is otherwise one of the best years in gaming.

The Top Ten

1Loot boxes - Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)

This is probably what everyone was expecting, right? When done right, loot boxes can add a fun layer of depth to a game and make it more fun. However, leave it to Electronic Arts to turn it into a cash grab. There were a few games in 2017 that abused the loot box system, but this has to be the worst. The loot boxes contained more than just cosmetic items; they were needed to unlock certain power-ups, whatnot and you never knew what items you would get. Earning loot boxes in game was a real grind (it could take up to 40 hours to unlock Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader) so EA gave people the option to buy them with real money. This, of course, left gamers very angry. It even garnered the attention of certain politicians and EA was forced to shut off the whole 'pay-to-win' structure. Their stock value even plummeted by a whopping $3 billion, which isn't pocket change, even for EA. Furthermore, their defense of the game's build has become the most down voted comment on Reddit to date. Will ...more - raidramon0

Got the EA team the most downvoted comment in Reddit history - Phillip873

Don't forget EA's response to a complaint about this on Reddit.

"The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we're looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we'll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets.Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can."

I am proud to have been one of the 672k+ people to have downvoted this statement. - Sop

2Streaming restriction backlash - Persona 5

One of the reasons why Persona 5 is so addictive is because of its well-told story. It has characters that you can actually get attached to and filled with unexpected twists and turns. I should know because I played through the game twice. However, when the game launched, Atlus put out some restrictions regarding streaming practices. If they revealed any major plot twists (and the game has a fair amount), they would have legal rights to issue a content ID claim or even a channel strike or account suspension. However, gamers took this the wrong way and Atlus later apologized for this. Streamers were now allowed to show content up until its final act. - raidramon0

3Make America Nazi-free Again - Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was one of the most anticipated titles of 2017 and it delivered on all fronts. However, the advertising campaign didn't exactly do the game any favors. Taking a page from Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign "Make America Great Again", the uninformed masses took this the wrong way and thought that Bethesda was promoting the late Feuhrer's Xenophobic ideals. The company's response? "Get over it! " Now that's how you retaliate! - raidramon0

Free Speech! This broke it and supported it at the same time. - EliHbk

4Jim Sterling's 7/10 review - Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was an awesome game. It won countless Game of the Year awards and got perfect to near perfect reviews from almost all publications. However, there are some people that'll just nitpick things to death and find flaws with even the best masterpieces. Jim Sterling from Jimquisition is definitely one of those people. The main problem he found with the game and amplified was the weapon and shield durability. On top of that, he also made a huge fuss about the game's difficulty. Sure, they might be an issue from time to time, but did he really have to be that harsh? He certainly learned the hard way that getting Zelda fans angry is the equivalent of serving pork ribs at a bar/bat mitzvah. - raidramon0

5Take-Two pulls the plug on mods - Grand Theft Auto V

GTAV is still one of the best video games on the market. Even years after its release, people are still playing it. One of the reasons why is because people love modding the game. When you're able to mod things, the possibilities are endless. However, Take-Two tried to change that by filing a 'cease and desist' order against OpenIV, the program used for modding. This didn't sit well with people and thought that modding for the game was officially dead. However, nothing came of this and OpenIV was still pumping out the mods. - raidramon0

6The setting - Far Cry 5

At its peak, the Far Cry series was one of the best First-Person Shooter series on the market. Many consider Far Cry 3 to be the best of the series where people argue that franchise fatigue started setting in sometime around Far Cry 4 and Far Cry Primal. With the announcement of Far Cry 5, it looked like things were going to turn around. But there was one thing that didn't jive well with the announcement and that it would take place in modern day United States. In the past, the series took place in exotic, far away locales, like the lawless archipelago of Rook Islands plagued by pirates led by Vaas in Far Cry 3, as well as the dystopia Himalayan country of Kyrat, ruled by the Tyrant Pagan Min in Far Cry 4. This time, the game takes place in Hope County, Montana where Joseph Seed leads a cult called Eden's Gate to convert the people of the town under his religious denomination. As you can tell, getting religion and politics involved in video games is always dicey. - raidramon0

I like it, I want to see how it'll be but I'm kinda POed still... - EliHbk

7Who copied from who? - Fortnite

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds was one of the surprisingly awesome games released in 2017. A mix between "Battle Royale" and "The Hunger Games" made this one of the best multi player games of the year. It was released on March 2017 as an early access title with a full release at the end of the year. However, on July 25, 2017, along came Fortnite as an early access title which played more or less identical to Playerunknown's Battlegrounds. This should've been a cut and dried case, but here's the monkey wrench. While Playerunknown's Battlegrounds came out first, it used the Unreal Engine 4 which was Epic Games legal property in the first place. And Fortnite was developed and published by Epic Games. So this is going to be a tough one to call. - raidramon0

FORTNITE'S THE B E S T

8Rushed Development - Mass Effect: Andromeda

During the 7th generation of video games, the Mass Effect series garnered much acclaim, despite some obvious issues. However, Electronic Arts has dropped the ball big time as of late (as if this was a surprise to anyone). While the latest game was released for 8th generation console, it sure doesn't look like it. Dull animations and technical issues plagued the game at launch, with people even calling it one of the most disappointing games of 2017. - raidramon0

9Are girls getting too busty? - Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Let's not get started on Dahlia's infamous design... - ModernSpongeBobSucks

The Switch was definitely a money-making machine for Nintendo. From awesome fresh first-party titles to old third-party favorites, the house of Mario pretty much dominated 2017 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 definitely gave JRPG fans a reason to own a switch by the end of the year. But one thing that garnered attention to the game for the wrong reason was how big Pyra's breasts were. Sure, her bust size might not have ventured into macromastia territory the way Brunhilde's massive bosom did in Valkyria Revolution, but it still caused quite a stir in the gaming community. Some even suggested that the game be censored before its North American release. We need to come to grips with how complaining about buxom young ladies in anime-esque games is like complaining about -40C cold snaps in Canada. They can be an annoyance, but there's nothing we can really do about it. - raidramon0

Who cares? - Sop

I just remembered that Xenoblade Chronicles X allowed you to adjust the size of a female avatar's breasts in the Japanese version but was removed for the English release. However, some of the girls like Pyra have bosoms that are clearly bigger than the max bust size in XCX. Nice 180 there Monolith. - raidramon0

10Production halted - NES Classic Edition

The NES Classic was one of the bestselling toys of 2016. 30 games in a miniaturized NES was a really sweet deal. However, it sold out extremely quickly and despite high demand, Nintendo announced in Summer 2017 that they would halt production of the unit. They claimed it was so they could focus on producing Switch consoles, which were an awesome seller. But it was really baffling because this was what helped put Nintendo back on the map for many gamers. Thankfully, they announced that production would resume in 2018, as well as the release of the SNES classic. Let's hope they don't do this again. - raidramon0